The
Danishmend
or Danishmendid
dynasty (Persian:
سلسله دانشمند‎,
Turkish:
Danişmentliler) was a
Turkish
dynasty that ruled in north-central and eastern Anatolia
in the 11th and 12th centuries.[1]
The dynasty centered originally around Sivas,
Tokat, and
Niksar
in central-northeastern Anatolia, they extended as far west as
Ankara
and Kastamonu
for a time, and as far south as Malatya, which they captured in 1103. In early 12th century, Danishmends were rivals of the
Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, which controlled much of the territory surrounding the Danishmend lands, and they fought extensively against the
Crusaders.

The dynasty was established by
Danishmend Gazi
(daneshmand
meaning in Persian) for whom historical information is rather scarce and was generally written long after his death. His title or name, Dānishmand
(دانشمند) means "wise man" or "one who searches for knowledge" in
Persian

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As of 1134, Danishmend dynasty leaders also held the title
Melik
(the King) bestowed in recognition of their military successes by the
AbbasidcaliphAl-Mustarshid, although the
Beys
(Emirs) of Danishmend prior to 1134 may also be retrospectively referred to as
Melik. Danishmend Gazi himself was alternatively called "Danishmend Taylu".[2]

Danishmends established themselves in Anatolia in the aftermath of the
Battle of Manzikert
in 1071, in which the Seljuks defeated the Byzantine Empire
and captured most of Anatolia. Gazi took advantage of the dynastic struggles of the Seljuks upon the death of the Sultan Suleyman I of Rûm
in 1086 to establish his own dynasty in central Anatolia. The capital was likely first established in Amasia.[3]

In 1130
Bohemond II of Antioch
was killed in a battle with Gazi Gümüshtigin, after coming to the aid of the
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, which Gümüshtigin had invaded. Gümüshtigin died in 1134 and his son and successor Mehmed did not have the martial spirit of his father and grandfather. He is nevertheless considered the first builder of Kayseri as a Turkish city, despite his relatively short period of reign.

When Mehmed died in 1142, the Danishmend lands were divided between his two brothers, Melik Yaghibasan, who maintained the title of "Melik" and ruled from
Sivas, and
Ayn el-Devle, who ruled from
Malatya.

In 1155, Seljuk Sultan
Kilij Arslan II
attacked Melik Yaghibasan, who sought help from Nur ad-Din, the
Zengid
emir of Mosul. However, when Nur ad-Din died in 1174, the Sivas lands were incorporated into the Sultanate.

Following the death of Fahreddin in a riding accident in 1172, he was succeeded by his brother Afridun.[5]
By 1175, Nasreddin Muhammed was back in power, and ruled as a Seljuk vassal.[5]
In 1178, Malatya
was occupied which marked the end of the Danishmend rule, while the remaining Danishmends joined Seljuk service.[5]

Danishmend Gazi, the founder of the dynasty, is the central figure of a posthumous romance epic,
Danishmendnâme, in which he is misidentified with an 8th-century Arab warrior, Sidi Battal Gazi, and their exploits intertwined.

Virtually all Danishmend rulers entered the traditions of the
Turkish folk literature, where they are all referred to as "Melik Gazi".[6]
Hence, there are "tombs of Melik Gazi", many of which are much visited shrines and belong in fact to different Danishmend rulers, in the cities of Niksar,
Bünyan,
Kırşehir, along the
River Zamantı
near the castle of the same name (Zamantı) and elsewhere in
Anatolia, and
Melikgazi
is also the name of one of the central districts of the city of Kayseri. The same uniformity in appellations in popular parlance may also apply to other edifices built by Danishmends.

The official title of the Danischmend dynasty,
Grand Melik of All Romania and the East, was always inscribed in the local currency in
Greek,[7]
indication of Byzantine influence.[8]
The Danishmend's coins, along with being bilingual, included an image of a figure slaying a dragon, thought to represent St. George.[9]